Branded Content is a relatively new market for the Middle East, so it’s difficult to give a detailed picture of the regional situation. However, the major players of the consumer electronics category (like Samsung, Nokia, and Apple) have not ventured far beyond mall activations and YouTube/Facebook ads. So there’s a real opportunity to engage and entertain people in the region with a fresh, unique experience. There are of course ‘modesty’ restrictions imposed on a campaign in the Middle East – no bikinis/shorts for women, no topless men, etc.

Apple and Samsung share more than 80% of the mobile market in the Middle East. To win “share of pocket” vs. iPhone and Galaxy, Sony needed to steal attention away from the giants – which meant doing something totally different. We saw an opportunity with the launch of Xperia Z3, the first ever fully waterproof range of smartphones and tablets. Since the Xperia Z3’s waterproof feature was a global first for a mobile range, we created THE WORLD’S FIRST UNDERWATER STORE to launch it in. Five metres below the sea off the coast of Dubai, it created a magical environment for people to discover the Xperia Z3 – and offered a demonstration of its waterproof feature that was like nothing people had experienced before. The design and build of the store was an intensive six-month process, with the final result offering a fully breathable environment for up to 8 people at a time and Wi-Fi connectivity (an underwater first!) so that people could tweet and post live from the sea floor. The jellyfish-inspired design, combined with custom-made product displays designed to look like real corals, and the unique sensation of ‘breathing underwater’ ensured that every visit to the store was unforgettable – and showed the potential of the waterproof Xperia Z3 to create incredible customer experiences. To generate buzz in the run-up to the store opening we launched a press teaser campaign and social competition. When the store opened it became the centrepiece of an integrated online and offline campaign designed to generate publicity that would get the attention of smartphone users everywhere.

Before the underwater store opened off the coast of Dubai we released a series of teaser images to the press, hinting at was waiting under the sea. This created a huge buzz among the public, who swarmed our social channels wanting to know more about the store. We also ran a Facebook competition inviting people from across the Middle East to come to Dubai to visit the store. This created over 60,000 views in 3 days. By the time the store opened, millions across the region wanted to visit it.

From the very first presentation, the client was as excited about this project as we were, which allowed us to really push the limits of what we could achieve. The public reaction across the Middle East was also very positive – in a region where brands don’t take such big risks, ours paid off: within a month brand preference was up 4 points, and our brand sentiment score jumped to 91% positive (compared to a Sony global average of 40%). As our story spread from Dubai to more than 80 countries worldwide, the store was talked about in news articles including Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Wired, GQ, Gizmodo, CNN, and T3. We also received global TV coverage, including a Discovery Channel documentary. Our online film earned over 5 million views, and Sony’s Twitter followers increased by 21%. In total, the campaign generated an earned media value of over $4.5 million. And best of all, Xperia sales increased 115%, with retailers across Dubai selling out of Xperia products for over a week.

The World’s First Underwater Store was more than an advertising campaign to launch a waterproof phone – it was a totally immersive experience that demonstrated the Xperia range to people in a way they’ll remember for years. Walking around a store five metres under the sea, breathing and speaking normally is something that most people will never have the chance to do, and was such a powerful event that pretty much every visitor left the store amazed. The underwater store didn’t just position the Xperia Z3 range as the only fully waterproof phone on the market, it put the product benefit at the heart of a thrilling experience, and showed people just how much this phone could allow them to do.